At the Executive Yuan meeting on public safety today, Premier Sean Chen praised law enforcement and other government agencies for a job well done as crime levels continue to fall this year.
According to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), major crimes in Taiwan are on the decline as the number of larceny, fraud and violent cases dropped by more than 10 percent while the overall crime clearance rate reached 83.95 percent. Premier Chen said it was evident that law enforcement's public safety programs have delivered strong results. Chen also commended those responsible for cracking down on pro baseball gambling rings; not one instance of game fixing has occurred this season as a result. As for the safety of women and children, however, the premier was alarmed by growing trends of domestic violence, sexual assaults, and sex transactions involving youth, and directed agencies to redouble their efforts to combat these problems.
The MOI also reported that coast guard and police agencies recently seized a fishing vessel off Penghu attempting to smuggle 500 kilograms of amphetamines worth NT$600 million (US$20.6 million) on the black market. This follows another major drug bust in September in which the Investigation Bureau uncovered 80 kilograms of heroin aboard a fishing vessel. The premier gave high marks to the investigative agencies for keeping the harmful substances off the streets and away from people.
After the MOI presented an analysis on public safety and public satisfaction, the premier pointed out that satisfaction levels as surveyed by the National Policy Agency (NPA) tended to increase with rising clearance rates and falling crime levels, both of which have been improving since 2006. But it troubled him that citizens did not feel as safe in locales outside their own communities. He asked the NPA to communicate more clearly with the public and to take note of this trend when making future policies. Nevertheless, citizens spoke well of public safety and police services in the survey.
Combating crime is tops on the government's agenda and an issue close to the heart of citizens, Premier Chen remarked. In the NPA's analysis of reasons and issues for public dissatisfaction, problems of safety were attributed to the NPA, while non-safety problems were attributed to other agencies. It is therefore imperative for everyone to work together to change citizens' feelings about crime and safety, Chen said.
Also at today's meeting, a briefing was delivered by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on fraud-prevention programs. Coordinated efforts with banks and financial institutions to alert would-be victims averted the loss of NT$183 million (US$6.3 million) in 2011 and NT$140 million (US$4.8 million) in the first nine months of 2012. The premier commended the FSC and gave instructions to work closer with police to find other effective means of fighting fraud.
Regarding the string of national holidays and festivities coming up—including the Winter Solstice Festival, Christmas, New Year's Day and the Lunar New Year—the premier reminded the MOI, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and local governments to ready themselves well ahead of time. Public safety and transportation will be particularly important this time of year due to heavy travel and the many celebrations taking place across the country.